The 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division 1 Basketball Tournament has entered the Sweet Sixteen round with three Australians left in contention for the Championship.
Baylor’s 33-1 regular season record continued into the post-season with an 89-59 thrashing of Idaho and a 25-point beat-down of Auburn, carrying Kristy Wallace into the third round.
Wallace set the tone for Baylor in their opening game, connecting from deep several times to finish with 13 points on 3-7 three-point shooting, four boards and three assists.
She then did a little bit of everything against Auburn in their Round 2 win, collecting three points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
That Idaho loss in Round 1 signalled the end of the tournament for Brigitte O’Neill, Tayla Corrigan, Renae Mokrzycki and Geraldine McCorkell.
Playing 25 minutes as a starter, McCorkell tallied eight points and two assists while Mokrzycki also hit the scoreboard for two points off the bench.
Rachel Antoniadou played only one minute across two games but her Florida State side have set up a clash with Baylor on March 27 (Australian time) after they recorded victories over Middle Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Stanford proved too good for San Francisco in Round 1, winning by 27 points as Alanna Smith had nine points and two blocks in just 14 minutes off the bench.
They play Notre Dame on March 26 after a thrilling victory yesterday over South Dakota State in which Smith’s team mate Lili Thompson drained a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to win the game.
The Buffalo Bulls were unable to follow their stunning entrance into the NCAA tournament with a win as they fell to Ohio State 69-88 in Round 1.
As starters, Stephanie Reid collected two points and six assists while Katherine Ups had five points and four offensive rebounds.
Courtney Wilkins recorded 22 minutes off the bench and hit four three-pointers for 14 points and six rebounds while Liisa Ups shot 2-4 for four points and an assist.
Ashleigh Karaitiana’s dream of an NCAA Championship is over this season after Hawaii fell to UCLA. She was unable to hit a field goal in the game but still contributed three rebounds and two assists.
In the Men’s competition, Jakob Cornelissen was unable to see any minutes as the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors upset the number four seed California Golden Bears in Round 1 before falling in Round 2 with a 13-point loss to Maryland.
The Kentucky Wildcats also fell in a Round 2 heartbreaker to Indiana by six points after a solid performance against Stony Brook in Round 1.
Isaac Humphries played only two minutes across those matches but will have taken confidence from his freshman season that saw him hit the court in 22 games for two points and two rebounds a contest.
The Sweet 16 round begins March 25 for the men and March 26 for the women Australian time.
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.